By the second quarter of 2019, American consumers will be getting the keys to Audi’s first battery electric car, the e-tron premium SUV. The car is a Tesla fighter (aimed especially at the Model X), though Audi denies it’s doing anything other than building the best EV it can.

The five-passenger 2019 e-tron will be competitively priced in the segment, starting at $74,800 (Premium Plus) and moving on to Prestige ($81,800) and First Edition ($86,700). U.S. reservations are now open, with a required (but refundable) $1,000 deposit. (The Tesla Model X starts at $79,500.)

The e-tron, which qualifies for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500, will be built at a new factory (boasting of its carbon neutrality) in Brussels and has a whopping-big battery pack—95 kilowatt-hours. That translates into a range of at least 248.5 miles in European testing. The official EPA range might be lower, but at a premiere event in San Francisco on Sept. 18, U.S. CEO Scott Keogh said the car achieved something like 269 miles in a downhill run from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco. Downhill runs are ideal, because the e-tron will gain as much as 30% of its range from regenerative braking, or “optimized recuperation,” as Keogh calls it.

The brake energy system has three settings controllable by the driver, and one-pedal driving is possible (most of the time) on the highest setting.

Filip Brabec, vice president of product management at Audi of America, addressed the Tesla question head-on in an interview. Right now, there are relatively few choices—there’s our car, the Jaguar I-Pace, and Tesla—so it’s inevitable there will be some cross-comparisons,” he tells Penta. “But we took a slightly different approach.”

The e-tron’s design is fairly conservative—it’s very recognizable as an Audi SUV. And that was by design, Brabec says.

“Our U.S. team had a lot of input, and we wanted to stay as conventional as possible as we moved into the EV space,” he says.“We wanted a car that wasn’t niche-y, so it could appeal to a large market. We wanted people to recognize it as a vehicle they could use every day.”

The e-tron, which was first shown in preliminary form at the Frankfurt auto show in 2015, will offer a zero to 60 time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 124 miles per hour. Audi is also touting a 4,000-pound towing capacity, if the car is properly equipped.

The e-tron batteries, with 36 cell modules, are under the floor. The car uses two asynchronous electric motors connected to a pair of single-stage transmissions that transfer torque to the axles through the differentials. Audi is known for its quattro all-wheel drive systems, and in the e-tron, the front axle motor is activated to complement the rear when needed for acceleration or cornering. There are seven drive modes, from ultra-efficient to sporty.

Charging is critical in cars with huge batteries like this one, so the good news is that the Audi’s pack can charge at 150 kilowatts. That allows slightly faster charging than even today’s Tesla units, which had been the gold standard.

As with Tesla, Audi owners will have access to a U.S. fast-charging network—installed by Electrify America at almost 500 sites (with units complete or in progress) in 40 states and 17 metropolitan areas by July 2019. Using those chargers, owners will be able to get an 80% charge in 30 minutes. Owners also get 1,000-kilowatt-hours of free charging via the Electrify America system over four years. Home chargers will be marketed via a partnership with Amazon, whose Alexa will also be aboard the car.

Audi deployed a fleet of 250 test e-trons across four continents, and hot weather miles at 120 degrees Fahrenheit put the cooling systems—on both the motors and battery pack—on trial.

Inside, the e-tron will feature twin touch displays, diagonally measuring 10.1 and 8.6 inches. Amazon’s Alexa is there to help with such smart home features as locking and unlocking doors, turning on lights and opening the garage door. There’s 28.5 cubic feet of luggage space with the second row up, 57 cubic feet with it folded down. The electric tailgate responds to foot gestures.

The Prestige package includes Driver Assistance, as well as head-up display, power-door closers, and an air-quality feature. Go to First Edition (limited to 999 cars for the U.S.) and special 21-inch black wheels are added, as well as night vision assistance and a range of interior and exterior appearance upgrades. That one may be hard to find because of early adopters.

Brabec said Audi’s electric portfolio is set to expand, and he confirmed that the company is looking at other SUV variations (possibly including a three-row SUV), a sedan, and a supercar. To prove it’s serious about the latter category, Audi showed the PB 18 e-tron concept, a 671-horsepower supercar, at a just-concluded Pebble Beach, Calif., event this year.

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